From FBI snitch to snitching on FBI

Aug. 20, 2010

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Craig Monteilh, of Irvine has worked undercover for the FBI in Orange County mosques. ANDY TEMPLETON, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Hussam Ayloush, Executive Director of CAIR LA (Council on American-Islamic Relations) is part of a group of people who requested in 2006 files the FBI may be holding about him. Only a small portion of the files have been released, he said. CAIR and the ACLU have now worked with a former informant to detail work he's done for the FBI in Orange County's Muslim community. KEN STEINHARDT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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After the arrest of a Tustin man, Muslim leaders referred to an FBI informant as an agent provocateur. Now the former informant has worked with civil rights organizations who say they are looking into possible abuses conducted by the FBI. KEN STEINHARDT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Craig Monteilh, 46, claims he worked as an FBI informant, targeting mosques in Orange County to weed out terrorism suspects. Monteilh shows OC Register reporters an OC JTTF (Orange County Joint Terrorism Task Force) coin he was presented by his FBI handler. KEN STEINHARDT, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Ever since Monteilh revealed that the FBI directed him to spy on local Muslims, the story has been one of shifting alliances.

At first, civil rights organizations condemned the work of a convict-turned-FBI-informant when details of his activity became known in 2009.

Now the same group that found itself under FBI scrutiny is working alongside the same informant who once reported on its activities

For more than a year and a half, Monteilh worked at the direction of the FBI to spy on local mosques and gain the trust of the people there. But now, after filing his own $10 million claim against the FBI, Monteilh has allied with the Council of American-Islamic Relations and the American Civil Liberties Union.

His FBI duties are detailed in a 28-page declaration that Monteilh signed for the ACLU in April. The declaration was prepared in anticipation of a potential lawsuit against the bureau. No suit has been filed so far by either CAIR or the ACLU.

UNCOMFORTABLE RELATIONSHIP

The relationship between the two groups and Monteilh has been awkward, at best.

According to Monteilh, he participated in identifying Middle Eastern men in local gyms, recorded secret conversations and collected information on people in order to have them recruited and pressured by agents to become informants themselves.

Civil rights advocates denounced his tactics.

CAIR and ACLU officials are hesitant to disclose details of Monteilh's affiliation, but he confirms he has met with officials of both organizations. A consent and waiver of rights letter signed by Monteilh, and a letter addressed to him from an ACLU attorney suggests the former informant has been working with the civil rights organizations since September 2009.

E-mail exchanges obtained The Orange County Register between Monteilh and CAIR lawyers confirm he's also worked with the Anaheim branch of that group.

When Monteilh's claims of being an informant first surfaced in early 2009, civil rights groups and leaders in the Muslim community denounced him as an agent provocateur.

Monteilh in turn rebuked the same organizations. Speaking with several media outlets, Monteilh claimed leaders in the community had ties to terrorist organizations. He came to the defense of the FBI when its investigative tactics were questioned, and justified his work as an informant, saying that, "although there are peaceful Muslims, Islam itself is a threat to our national security."

Hussam Ayloush, director of the Southern California CAIR chapter, said at the time he would be speaking with an attorney to discuss the possibility of a libel suit. Monteilh claimed that Ayloush had ties to violent groups.

More than a year later, Monteilh's assertions about local Muslim organizations have reversed. He's offered apologies to CAIR and Ayloush.

"I admit there has been a shift in on my perspective on CAIR and the FBI," Monteilh said. "I believe the FBI lied to me."

The attitude of civil rights advocates toward Monteilh has also become less confrontational.

"In dealing with Craig Monteilh, our only interest is making sure the basic civil rights of our community are protected," Ayloush said. "If there is any contact, it's going to be about learning of any possible violations of the civil rights of American Muslims."

Ayloush said he believes Monteilh made those statements under the direction of the FBI. He would not confirm any contact that CAIR has had with Monteilh or his attorney, Adam Krolikowski.

Despite email exchanges and documents signed by officials at the civil rights organization and Monteilh, ACLU officials would not go into specifics regarding their relationship with Monteilh, stating only that he is one of dozens of people they've discussed FBI surveillance with.

"We don't really have anything to say about him," said Eileen White Read, director of communications for the ACLU of Southern California. "He's not our client. At this time, we have no relationship with him."

$10 MILLION SUIT

Since going public with his claims, Monteilh filed a $10 million suit against the FBI claiming it violated his civil rights and he revealed investigative tactics he said were racial profiling.

His work with the ACLU and CAIR, Monteilh said, benefits his case: "I admit that, but that's not my sole purpose. My sole purpose is this, it keeps the FBI transparent."

Monteilh wrote in his declaration: "(Agents) said they were building files in areas with the biggest concentrations of Muslim Americans – New York; the Dearborn, Michigan area; and the Orange County/Los Angeles area.

"One thing my handlers wanted me to collect was contact information, particularly email addresses and phone numbers. At times, my handlers even gave me a quota to collect contact information for ten new Muslims per day."

Monteilh has also met with defense attorneys representing Ahmadullah Sais Niazi, a Tustin man who is facing immigration fraud charges. Federal prosecutors claim he has ties to terrorist organizations, including being a security coordinator for Osama bin Laden, but no terrorism related charges have been filed.

Monteilh helped build the criminal case against Niazi, and has met with his defense attorney, Chase Scolnik, on several occasions. Scolnik and Krolikowski have confirmed these meetings.

Since then, both the U.S. Attorney's Office and Scolnik filed a joint request that Niazi's terms of release be eased while he awaits trial.

For Monteilh, who worked for years with law enforcement, the changing alliances surrounding him are nothing new. But Monteilh's past as an informant, and criminal record, has kept his credibility in question. Still, several of his claims have been substantiated in court records and other documents.

"If half of what (Monteilh) is saying is true, I would say Americans would come to the conclusion some FBI agents were trained by the KGB," Ayloush said.

FBI WON'T CONFIRM

FBI officials have neither confirmed nor denied Monteilh's story publicly. They have denied using racial profiling.

In July, ACLU offices in 29 states filed for Freedom of Information Act requests with the FBI asking for documents related to the agency's collection of racial and ethnic data.

But officials said obtaining information from the FBI has hit one roadblock after another.

In May 2006 Ayloush and several other Muslim leaders requested FBI files, but the requests have been stalled for more than four years.

Ayloush said he is still waiting.

"I've been anxiously waiting to know what the government is keeping on me," Ayloush said. "I know that I've never engaged in anything illegal."

Monteilh said that his statements to the ACLU and CAIR have substantiated several of their suspicions: "Without me there is no tangible evidence, only speculation."

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